R. Kelly to Be Removed From Official Spotify Playlists

R. Kelly, an artist once known for his sexual songs and “I Believe I Can Fly” from Space Jam is now known for his history of having sex with underage girls, recording it, and starting sex cults. The history of statutory rape and his attempts to dodge blame for it have resulted in the artist being focused on by the #MeToo movement and not really accepting any responsibility for his actions, dodging consequence at every turn. Thus, as part of its new “Hate and Hateful Music Conduct Policy”, Spotify will no longer be featuring R. Kelly on its algorithmic playlist. You can still find R. Kelly, sure. You just have to punch his name into the search engine.

Said the CEO of Spotify —

“We are removing R. Kelly’s music from all Spotify owned and operated playlists and algorithmic recommendations such as Discover Weekly. His music will still be available on the service, but Spotify will not actively promote it. We don’t censor content because of an artist’s or creator’s behavior, but we want our editorial decisions — what we choose to program — to reflect our values. When an artist or creator does something that is especially harmful or hateful, it may affect the ways we work with or support that artist or creator.”

So, look — it’s not like appearing in a playlist after I finish listening to the “Looney Tunes: Back in Action” soundtrack is a big punishment or consequence, but it’s a start, folks. We’ll see if R. Kelly ends up feeling any consequence during the #MeToo movement.

Also, don’t forget he’s a huge transphobe. Blech. Get out of here you transphobic mutant.

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